Woman dies after falling into recycling bin

A WOMAN died after falling head-first into a recycling bin and was only found when her husband came home from work.

Sheila Decoster, 62, had become stuck in a position where she was unable to breath and was probably inside the bin for several hours before she was found, a coroner in Toledo, Ohio said.

Her husband Richard saw her legs sticking out of the 64-gallon container that sits alongside their porch.

“I just happened to look to the left and, honestly, thought it was a dummy,” Mr Decoster said.

“I shook her leg and called her name, and I knew she was gone.”

The couple, that had been married for 43 years, kept their recycling and rubbish bins next to their porch, which does not have a railing.

Investigators said it looked like Mrs Decoster, a mother of three and who had just become a great-grandmother to a girl born on August 1, was standing on her porch when she leaned over, lifted the lid on the bin and fell inside.

Her husband said she had several medical issues, including dizzy spells and an aneurism on her brain, which could explain why she fell.

She also had back problems and a recent knee-replacement surgery.

There were many complaints about the large recycling bins when they were distributed two years ago. Residents said they were too big and difficult to move, especially for older and disabled people.

“It’s tragic, but I think it’s definitely an extreme example,” said a city spokes- woman.

“We definitely encourage people to position their containers in a safe location around their house and to make sure they have appropriate safety precautions in place.”

According to a preliminary report, Decoster died of positional asphyxia, meaning that, because of her position in the container, she was not able to breathe properly, said Lucas County Deputy Coroner Diane Barnett.

In her 29 years in the coroner’s office, Dr Barnett said she has never seen anything quite like it.